chess-The Oxford Companion to Chess - First Edition by David Hooper & Kenneth Whyld

106 EUWE
Euve at the Haninss Congres, 193r
gamej Nhich his parerls played. In 192l hesonlhe
nadodal chadpionship (lo. the fiEt oI nany
times). dr.w a nalch with M*6czy (+2=8 2).
and played at Budapesl in his fi6t slrong tourname.t.
A sttrdenr of mathcmatics at Amsterdam
u.iveBity, he graduatcd with honous in 1923,
becane a teacherof matheoatiGandnechaniBin
1924, andgained his dodorare in 1926. Ches took
se.ond place tohisprote$ion and heremained an
anateur throughout hh playingcareer. For nany
ye ars he could 6 nd time o.ly ior small to urnamenls
a.d i. one ofthen, Wiesbaden 1945, he son list
prize (+3=3) aheadofsprE,.MANN and s,iM,s.E. tle
natowly lost matches aSainsl ALESNE
(+2=5-3) during the chnstnas vacation 192G7,
and againsr BocouuBow (+2=5-3), Easter 1928.
Inthe summeroft928 hewon thc second a.dlast
world amatcur championship, played al The
Hague. In the early 1930s he had several good
ioumamenr results: Hastings 1930-1, 6rst
(+6=2-l) ahead oI cApAtr,-aNcA; Ber.e 1932,
second (+8=7) and zurich 1934. seond
(+10:4 i), both rimes shanns the prize with
From atter Alettline: Hastings 1934-5. nrst
(+4=5) equal wnh Eoh. and IroMAs ahead ol
Capablanca and uNrNNr(. Euwe lost a nar.h to
capablanca (=8-2) in 1931, drew Nilh Flohr
(+3=10 3) in 1932. and played tNo rraining
natches with Spielmaan (+2=2 in 1932 and
+2=4-,lin 1935).In 1935 he won a natch against
Alekhine (+9=13 8) and became wortd chamwhile
holding tnc title Euwe competed in lour
st.ong tou.nmenrs: zandvoort 1936- second
(+5=5 1) atter ENE ahead oIcREsi Nottinsnam
1936, about catecoiy 14, third (+7=5-2) equal
wirh Fi.e and REsEEvsn balf a point .fter
Capablanca and Botvindik abead ol Alekhine and
Floh.: Amsterdan 1936- fitrt (+3:4) equal with
Fine i and Bad Nauheim-Sttrttgart Carniscb 1937,
fis1 (+l:2-1) ahead ol Alekhine. During this
liFe he had scored two wins and a draw against
Alekhitre, yer in 1937 he lost the rerum match.
After he won a lonrnament al Annerdan
Hillesum-Haeue in 1939 (+4:6) ahead olFlohr,
and anothe. ar Budapen in 19a0 (+4=1), and
narrowly lost a match ro Keres, 193q0
(+5=3 6). the Second wodd war spread to his
counkv and lor aboul 6ve yeas EuNe s chcss
a.livilies were mainly condned to lhe Nethedatrds.
He then achieved his 6nesr tonrnament .esult at
G.oningen 1946, about caiegory 12, when he took
secondplac.(+11:6 2) atter Botvinnik ahead oI
sws6v, NdDoRF, Flohr, and BorEsuvs0.
In the World Championship match toumament
oI1948 Euwe, nowin his fortv seventh Ycar, fared
badly. He cofltinned to play in chess evenh bul
never eqDalled his earlier succ.s*s. From 1957,
wncn he gave up leaching, Euwe held seleral
appoinhenls relating to the use ot computcm.
Fron 1970 to 1978 Euwe qas presidenl ol FIDE
Guc.eedins ro6*D) and rh( pcriod was one ol the
most active of his life. On behalfoIFIDEhelisited
mole th.n 100 cou.lries at his own expense and
was largely respo.sible for tbe ainliadon of oore
tban 30 nes nenber coutriesi hc was sDpreme
arbiter for the conrentious championshiP matches
ol 1972 and 1978. His decisions on these mattes
and otheB were olten reliled, bur he steadlastly
pursuedwhat hebelievedlobethe besl i.re.ests ot
thc game, nor tearing unpopnlanly.
A keen openings stude.t, Euwe nade inprovemenls
to mady known varianons: PerhaPs his most
imporhnt confibulion qas the inrroducdon oi rbe
'He is', srole &oc!.
'logic penonined, a genius oflaw and order. . . .
One vould hardly call hin an attacking player yel
.- . . he sfides con0den tly in to some ertraordinan
ly @6plex varialions. Aleldrine noted lhal Euse
was noi an outstanding stralegisl, bur a fne
tadician who rarety made an unsound combinaiion.
Euwe wnies: FeN people know lhal I had to
repeal a year at s@ndary $hool, and tbis
unpleasa.t experience may have had a decisive
influence on the whole of my life. Con,inced as I
was oI ny oM abiliry to pas through the school in
the nininum tve yea6, so rhat my iailure was due
10 myown indolence,I fclr I had lailed in my d y
to ny parenrs and resolved ro conent.ate absolulely,
in future, on whatever t should happ.n to
rate up ' His life was one ofceaseless activiiyi to
be busy'. he said, 'is to guarmtee a good deal of
one\ health.' Maried in 1926, be broughl up a
family of three daushre^, aod besides his
profession lollowcd awide range of interestsotner
rha. chess. In these ci.cumstances his wi..i.g of
ihe world title nust be accounted a great sporting
Euwe wrole more books. many of then in
collabo.ation wiih othe6, than a.y other great